


The Siren's Fruit

by jellybeansarecool



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: And Harry wants whatever it is that's calling him to the surface, Chakotay just wants to be there for Kathryn, F/M, Pre Season 3: Favourite Son, She's the Captain - Damn it!, away mission, but she's not letting her out of her box, searching for minerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:54:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26059060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jellybeansarecool/pseuds/jellybeansarecool
Summary: While travelling in a quiet area of space, the Voyager crew find a planet with rich vorilium and decide to send an away team to the surface to scout it out. While on the planet, Harry feels a mysterious tug that draws him away from the team and in search of whatever is calling him. Unbeknownst to the team, there's a virus laying dormant waiting for an unsuspecting host.
Relationships: Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway
Kudos: 20





	The Siren's Fruit

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've only recently started watching Voyager. My sister and her husband are fans of Star Trek, but I've only ever caught an episode or two. Now, however, I've fallen in love with the Voyager crew (much to the delight of my sister). While I was watching 'Favourite Son' I got to thinking of how/when Harry would have been infected with the virus that mutated his genetic structure. This was the result of my musings, with a dash of J/C thrown in because I adore those two (damn them not getting together in the show!).   
> As this is my first foray into writing for these characters if I've not quite got the voices or terminology down right, please let me know!

_“Stardate 50690. Captain’s Log. Chief Engineer B’Elanna Torres has advised the senior officers to keep a lookout for planets rich in vorilium. She tells us that at our current rate of consumption, we will need to restock before the month is out or risk further damage to our systems. We have set our scanners to finding this necessary mineral. So far, this area of space has been quiet. I hope this continues so that we can put all our resources into finding vorilium rather than defending ourselves from hostile civilisations.”_

“Captain,” Harry looked up from the display beneath his fingers. 

“What is it, Ensign?” Captain Janeway turned around in her chair to look at the youngest crewman on the bridge. 

“Our long-range scanners have picked up signs of vorilium on a planet three light-years from here.”

“Very good. Is there any evidence of civilisation on the planet?”

Janeway turned her head towards Tuvok as he began to speak, “No. It appears that there is no intelligent life on this planet or any of its moons.”

Turning back around to face the viewscreen, Janeway glanced over at her first officer. He had been following the short discussion closely and gave her a reassuring smile. She nodded; it was set then. They would make their way towards the planet. “You heard them, Mr Paris. Set a course.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Janeway rose from her captain’s chair and began to make her way towards the turbolift. She paused in front of her chief of security and tapped her combadge. “Janeway to Engineering.”

“Torres here. What can I do for you, Captain?”

“We have arrived at a planet that scanners show has vorilium deposits on the northern continent. I want you on the away team to make sure the quality is at the required levels.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Good. We’ll meet you in transporter room three. Janeway out.”

Tuvok rose his eyebrow, “Do you intend to beam to the surface?”

“I am Tuvok.” Janeway held his gaze. 

“Captain?” Harry asked.

“What is it, Mr Kim?”

“Permission to join the away team?”

“Permission granted.” Janeway suppressed a grin at the glee on the ensign’s face. Looking over her shoulder, she spotted her first officer watching her expectantly, waiting for her to grant him the bridge. At the moment before passing the power of command over to him, however, she had a change of heart. Her stomach turned at the thought of him not being at her side. She was not one to dismiss intuition or feeling, so the next words out of her mouth didn’t surprise her, as they seemed to do to her Vulcan friend. “Commander, with me.” 

Chakotay’s eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly pushed himself up from his chair and went to stand beside Janeway. He was always willing to spend more time by her side – a fact he’d quickly come to accept. 

Tuvok, however, wished to press the issue. “Captain, I must advise against–”

Janeway lifted her hand to silence him, “Lieutenant, I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t want to hear it. The planet below is uninhabited, we are in a clear part of space, our long-range scanners aren’t picking up any ships, hostile or otherwise, and the Commander and I have a number of personnel files to discuss.” She smiled, “This way, we can kill two birds with one stone.” 

Chakotay grinned as he watched Tuvok’s face settle into its usual stoic mask. It was apparent that he still did not approve, but he wasn’t going to argue with the captain over it. 

Janeway resumed her walk towards the turbolift with Chakotay and Harry in tow. She called out to the sulking Vulcan, “You have the bridge, Lieutenant!” 

Harry felt the familiar tingle of the transporter beam fade away as he opened his eyes to the planet’s surface. They had landed in a lush area with large trees pushing into the crisp sky above. In the quiet after the transport, he thought he could hear the rush of a river not too far from their location. 

B’Elanna looked down at her tricorder. “There appear to be two sources close to our location,” she said. “One in the caves to the northeast and one in the cliffs to the south.” 

Janeway nodded. “Mr Kim, you’re with B’Elanna. You two check the caves. Commander Chakotay and I will investigate the cliffs. Meet back here in three hours.” 

Chakotay smiled to himself as the groups split and went in opposite directions. He wouldn’t say it but the times when he was alone with Kathryn were his favourite. He cherished them and kept them close to his heart. Now, if only he could get her to talk about something other than the ship’s business. 

“Come on then, Starfleet,” B’Elanna said as she followed the signal of her tricorder. 

Harry ambled along behind her. There was something here, something drawing him in. He could feel it faintly on the ship, it’s what had prompted him to request to be on the away team, but now that he was on the surface the feeling was stronger, more tangible than it had been before. He barely listened to B’Elanna’s mutterings as he followed her. His own tricorder hung uselessly at his side in the soft grip of his hand. 

It wasn’t long before they reached the mouth of the cave. B’Elanna continued her forward momentum, but Harry stopped. The feeling had turned into a physical pull. He knew he was closer to whatever it was that was tugging at his mind and body. Glancing over at the half-Klingon as she disappeared into the dark mouth of the cave, he decided to skirt the hill and find whatever it was that was calling to him. 

Janeway and Chakotay walked in companionable silence as they made their way toward the cliffs. Upon arriving at the white walls that towered over them, they walked the base scanning for any sign of the coveted mineral. A pattern soon emerged where they would take ten steps and scan, ten steps and scan, over and over again. After a while, Janeway felt the need to fill the silence.

“I’ve been looking over those files you sent me,” she began, “it seems to me that there are a number of the crew who are starting to feel the weight of how far we’ve still got to go. They’re suffering from emotional and chemical imbalances according to the doctor. I want to give them some extra time off duty each week so that I don’t have to deal with complete breakdowns further down the line, but to do that we’d need to increase shifts for the rest of the crew, which runs the risk of replicating those problems in others. If only we had a ship’s counsellor!”

“Captain,” Chakotay tried to interrupt.

She paid him no mind. “So, I’ve been thinking. What if we create a holo-counsellor? We’ve already got a holo-doctor. How different would a holo-counsellor be? Of course, they’d need to be confined to the holodeck but if you reconfigure the crew schedules to include an extra hour a week on the holodeck to talk to the counsellor that might allow the crew to work through some of the trauma of being stuck out here.”

He tried again, “Captain.”

“But then I thought, could we even make a holodeck programme effective enough? None of us has professional counselling training. Maybe the doctor could help us create the programme. He must have access to data banks on counselling. But then again, he’s not the most welcoming and open of individuals.” She let out a huff of annoyance, “There’s just something about talking to a real person. Flesh and blood like you and I. It’s one thing to go see a hologram and get your bone set, it’s a whole other thing to see one and expose all your vulnerabilities.” 

“Kathryn!”

Janeway stopped and looked at Chakotay. 

“This is about more than just the crew, isn’t it?”

Janeway glared at him. “No. I’m just trying to come up with the best solution for my people. We are going to get home, but I don’t want to get there and have them all declared unfit for duty and mentally unstable. They are a good crew. They’re my responsibility.”

Chakotay looked down at her, his heart clenching in his chest. “And you are mine,” he whispered. She cared so much for those in her command, but he worried that she didn’t care enough for herself. 

Tears pricked in Janeway’s eyes. Every time he did this, showed how much he cared, and put her first and not just in a regular first officer sort of way, it floored her. They were standing close to each other as was their habit, but she took a step closer still. She placed a hand lightly on his chest and stared at it for a moment, gaining the courage to look up at his deep brown eyes. Eyes she knew would be radiating warmth and concern for her wellbeing. 

When she tilted her chin up to meet his gaze, she felt him clasp the hand that continued to rest on his broad chest, just above his heart. He gave her a soft smile.

“What is it?” He whispered, “What is it you need? What can I do for _Kathryn_?” 

Janeway blinked back tears and let Kathryn re-emerge for a moment. She took another small step forward so that their bodies were almost touching. Her eyes flicked down from his and toward his lips. She could see him holding back a smile, and her stomach clenched in anticipation. Was she going to do this? Was she really going to say, ‘damn the protocols!’? 

Chakotay searched Katheryn’s face for any indication of what she was thinking. He could feel her breath against his skin. His own breath hitched when he felt rather than saw her move up onto her toes to get closer to him. In an instant, he understood. He lowered his head so that his mouth could meet hers. A voice in the back of his mind rung a warning bell, trying to tell him that this was a mistake, that something was bothering her, and that this was not the way to help her through whatever it was she was working through. He refused to acknowledge the voice, however. He didn’t know when, or even if, he’d ever have another chance at pulling her close and kissing those lips that teased him so thoroughly. 

The sound of a snapping branch floated through the air. At the loud crack, Janeway pulled away from Chakotay, their lips scant centimetres apart. She quickly shoved Katheryn back inside her box and stepped away from her first officer. She was furious with herself. What had she done? Flirting was one thing but kissing him was a whole other ball game. She glanced over at him and instantly wished she hadn’t. In the moment it took to school his features, she saw the disappointment and longing on his face. Her heart missed a beat, and guilt flooded in. Another person she had hurt. Another way she’d failed. 

B’Elanna emerged from between the trees. “Harry’s missing,” she said.

Janeway’s heart missed another beat, but this time it was from fear. 

Rather than walking around the base of the foothills, Harry began to climb. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but when he looked around, he realised that he had covered a fair distance. The sloping hills gave way to a steeper more rugged terrain. A small part of him told him to stop, to turn back, by now B’Elanna would know that he was missing. He reached his hand up to tap his combadge. It was hovering over the badge when a tantalising aroma hit him. Dropping his hand, he stumbled towards it, desperate to know what was giving off the heavenly smell.

Harry pushed through the brush, sticks poking him through his uniform. His whole being had become so attuned to the smell and pull of the mysterious object, however, that everything else faded away. He knew nothing but the smell, nothing but the pull of that which he desired. The ensign emerged into a clearing. The grass was vibrant beneath his feet. Unaware of it, the wildflowers or the thick trees which surrounded the clearing, Harry made his way toward the old crooked tree that stood alone in the centre. 

From one of the tree’s bent pale branches hung a golden fruit. It was fat and heavy with dew still sparkling on its surface. Harry moved closer; he could almost reach out and touch it. The smell was stronger here but not overwhelming. He salivated at the thought of bringing it to his mouth and taking a bite. Hours of Starfleet training kicked in without him even realising it. He raised the tricorder in his hand and scanned the fruit. He barely glanced at the reading, only enough to know that it didn’t contain any known toxins.

Harry reached up and touched the fruit. Its skin was smooth, and it felt firm beneath his fingers. With a gentle tug, it released itself from the branch it had been hanging on. He ran the oblong shape over in his hands, looking at every side of the perfect object. His only thoughts being the want, the desire, to eat it. 

He raised the golden fruit to his mouth and took a bite. A moan of pure delight rose in his throat when the juice hit his tongue. He’d never tasted anything like it before, but he couldn’t imagine it tasting like anything else. It was perfection in every sense of the word. He continued to bite at it, the crisp sound of the flesh giving way between his teeth was music to his ears. Juice dribbled down his chin, but he didn’t wipe it away, he was too enraptured by the fruit. 

Much too quickly, the fruit was gone. A contented sigh passed from between his lips. He wiped the sticky juice from his chin and looked around, suddenly aware that he’d left B’Elanna all alone down in the caves. He rubbed his hands on the soft grass to clean them before pulling out his tricorder and beginning the descent back to the valley floor.

B’Elanna felt the tension between her two commanding officers as they walked back in the direction of the caves. She wasn’t sure what had happened, and it didn’t look like either of them would enlighten her. She slowed down to walk alongside her old friend, who was trailing behind the two women. Before she could ask him what the matter was the captain spoke, 

“B’Elanna, why didn’t you contact us on your combadge as soon as you realised that Harry was missing?” 

“I tried to contact him, but I couldn’t get a signal. Then I tried you and still nothing. Either something in the caves was interfering with communications or something’s gone wrong with my badge.” 

Janeway nodded and tapped her own badge. “Janeway to Kim.” They waited a moment in silence before a crackling noise alerted them to a connection.

“Kim here.”

“Mr Kim, we have B’Elanna. Join us at the meeting point.”

“Yes, Captain.” He paused before speaking again, “I’m sorry, Captain, I shouldn’t have wandered off.”

“We’ll discuss it later, Ensign. Janeway out.”

Harry cringed at the sound of Janeway’s dismissive voice. He’d be scrubbing the Jeffrey’s tubes for this. He shrugged, it was worth it though, or at least so he thought at the time. A few more weeks, however, and he’d be cursing the planet and its seductive fruit. 

He trotted down the last few feet of the hill and moved toward the mouth of the cave system before veering off towards the large clearing they had initially arrived at. Emerging from the trees, he found the captain sitting on a large rock with her face angled towards the sun. The commander and B’Elanna were chatting quietly off to the side when they saw him. 

“There you are!” The engineer exclaimed. 

Janeway looked up, saw him, and then stood, moving towards their little group. Chakotay pulled away from where B’Elanna was berating Harry for disappearing on her and stepped towards his captain. 

He lightly grabbed hold of her arm, pausing her forward momentum. He lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered, “Don’t think we’ve finished our discussion. We still need to talk.” 

Janeway suppressed a shiver. She pulled away from him and hissed quietly, “We’ve _talked_ enough, don’t you think?”

Chakotay watched to join the other two officers. There was still a long way to go if he was going to get her to open up. He’d get little snippets of vulnerability, but he was aware that she fought to keep them hidden. In her mind, they were barriers to governing the ship and getting her people home safely. He just wished that she knew that it was ok to relax and be human around him. It wouldn’t stop him from taking her commands or being a good first officer. He suspected that it might, in fact, make him a better friend and XO if he knew when and how to push her and when and how to giver her space. He was figuring it out on his own, but it would be so much better if they could talk. He let out a little sigh, rolled his shoulders back and joined the group. 

“Four to beam up.”

_“Stardate 50698. Captain’s log. After a successful away mission, we have confirmed that the planet does have a rich deposit of vorilium. We will begin extraction tomorrow. The planet boasts a temperate climate, and I am being advised by my senior officers to consider allowing shore leave for the crew. I will announce my decision tomorrow. End log.”_

**Author's Note:**

> Have a great day and stay safe,   
> JBeans


End file.
